Luther on Trials

Psalm 50:15

Call on me in times of trouble. I will rescue you, and then you will honor me.

       Martin Luther wrote, "this passage describes the life of a faithful believer. All the tests we experience are nothing but a joyful game God plays with His children. Sometimes the father will tell his child to do something, even though he knows the child isn't strong enough, or the task is too hard for him. You may tell your small son to bring a bucket or take off his boots and when he tries to accomplish the task, even though it's too hard for him, the father gladly and quickly lends a hand. You then praise the child for his efforts. This is the kind of game God plays with the god-fearing and faithful people whom he calls his children and who call him father. They don't doubt his fatherly love, or his good intentions in the least. God is pleased with their efforts even though weak and praises everything they do even if it's small and insignificant. It's a similar way to which an earthly father appreciates and praises the efforts of his small child when he tries to complete a task that is too difficult for him."

       I guess the pastoral lesson here, for those of us who don't like to think of God as a father, or dislike the idea of God playing games with us, is that trials have a purpose. And that purpose is to teach us to rely upon someone greater than we - especially that this "someone greater" has our best intentions at heart. He doesn't allow games to continue to torment us, nor allow the bad times to continue so we can learn hard lessons.  Nope, he takes the hard lessons that we learn and redeems them, transforming them into something else, something better. He shows his love for us by never abandoning us, never criticizing us, always praising us for our hard work. But also, like any father, he understands there's work that has to be done! He's not trying to do everything for us, so we need to quit treating him like a genie from a bottle. He wants us to learn and work. We all know from our own experience that we appreciate those things we work for more than those we are given. When everything is given to us, we are spoiled. God is not interested in spoiling his children, he's raising them in the best way a father can. He's raising them with love; always with an eye toward their future!